Chapter 8: I Don't Give a Damn

After that day, Taichen Courtyard underwent a complete transformation.

Previously, aside from Meng Shisan's sleeping quarters, the rest of the courtyard was a dilapidated and messy mess. Under the direction of Mama Cai—a trusted confidante sent by Lady Shang—the place was tidied up and became neat and clean.

The servants had also been reorganized. Originally, besides the two senior maids, Baozhu and Jinyin, the vast courtyard was managed by only a few coarse laborers with no even a managing matron in sight. With a wave of her hand, Lady Shang filled the void by adding four second-class maids, four third-class maids, and four each of coarse laborers and elderly female servants.

The selection of the managing matron, however, had to be done with great care.

Four elderly servants were tasked with guarding the courtyard gates, and four coarse maids were added to the cleaning duties of the entire premises. Meng Shisan's daily needs were still handled by Baozhu and Jinyin, while the cleaning of her sleeping quarters was assigned to two second-class maids. The remaining two second-class maids and four third-class maids were distributed among the study, the private treasury, the main hall, and the east and west wings.

With these arrangements, Taichen Courtyard went from being spacious to somewhat crowded.

In truth, it wasn't really crowded.

In the past, because there were so few servants—only Baozhu, Jinyin, and a few coarse laborers—the space felt immense. Baozhu and Jinyin lived in the side rooms flanking the main house to be close to their mistress, while the younger maids lived in the front rooms connected to the courtyard gate. There were many empty rooms left over.

Consequently, areas meant for servants, such as the front and rear rooms, had always been quite vast. The original owner had been a person who avoided trouble, spending her days wallowing in melancholy; the east and west wings were essentially just for show and were never even stepped in. Aside from the sleeping quarters, the main house also contained a study and a main hall.

The main hall was Mingxiao Hall, the reception area of Taichen Courtyard.

After accepting the fact that she was now Meng Liangchen, Meng Shisan had walked through the entire courtyard. Upon finishing, she felt quite satisfied; the large space with few people was exactly to her liking.

Therefore, after she had specifically complained and vented her grievances to Li Shou—and successfully achieved a total victory—Lady Shang began to treat her with importance. Not only did she intimidate Lady Wu into no longer mistreating her, but she also arranged for a large number of people to be stuffed into her courtyard. The tranquility that Meng Shisan had been so satisfied with was now turned into a bustling place, which made her secretly a little unhappy.

Yet, she felt she shouldn't refuse.

A person living this life, especially a lady of a noble household, must maintain the proper level of grandeur. Otherwise, one would inevitably be looked down upon.

In the past, Meng Meijing had often ridiculed the original owner for being shabby and incapable of making an appearance. The original owner was essentially a fragile, Lin Daiyu-like figure; being ridiculed from time to time would frequently result in her falling ill.

As expected, the reorganization of the interior and exterior of Taichen Courtyard caused all the other courtyards—which had previously hoped the rumors were false—to gasp in shock. They finally confirmed that the eldest daughter of the Second Branch had indeed received extraordinary favor from the Crown Prince.

Regarding this, Meng Zhinian's feelings were very complicated.

Logically speaking, since Liangchen was his eldest daughter and had caught the Prince's eye, he should be happy; in fact, he was indeed somewhat happy.

But deep in his heart, he wished that this extraordinary favor from His Highness would have fallen upon Meijing instead.

However, he only thought this to himself and never spoke it aloud.

Lady Wu was different. Once she returned to her room and closed the door, she was blunt and outspoken, making Meng Zhinian's head throb with pain.

Lady Wu disliked the eldest daughter and never hid it from him in the slightest.

In the past, he had thought that if she disliked her, so be it; after all, they were not biological mother and daughter. As long as the eldest daughter grew up to adulthood, he felt he had done right by his first wife, Lady Zeng. Looking back now, he realized that, quite unconsciously, he had been acting just like his elder sister-in-law who managed the household, indulging Lady Wu in mistreating the eldest daughter's food, leaving the girl unable to even fill her stomach for ten years.

Meng Zhinian felt dazed. To say he felt heartache would be an exaggeration; after all, he had little fatherly affection for this eldest daughter since she was a child, seeing her only a few times a year. As she grew older, the gap between them widened, making it even harder to become close.

Thus, when his elder brother scolded him for being a failure as a father, he desperately wanted to retort that he was extremely doting toward his second daughter, obeying her in everything to the point of being willing to pluck the moon from the sky—how could he be called a failure as a father?

Yet, he felt a sense of guilt.

In front of his elder brother, he was accustomed to being lectured. He had always followed his brother's lead—if his brother pointed east, he went east; if his brother pointed west, he went west. Since his brother had said this time that he should treat Yaoyao well in the future, he would simply do as he was told.

That night, Meng Zhinian did not stay in Lady Wu's room. He was nagged until his head felt tight; with a quick step and turn, he went to the room of his concubine, Concubine Jiang.

Seeing this, Lady Wu was so enraged that she smashed half the ornaments in the room.

The next day, when Meng Meijing learned that her mother had been so angry that she had broken things all over the floor, she immediately tossed Lady Wu's warning to leave Meng Shisan alone to the back of her mind. Upon hearing that Meng Shisan was taking a stroll in the garden, she marched straight there.

Meng Shisan had grown tired from walking and was resting under a ginkgo tree. She thought to herself that this body was truly weak; she had only walked two laps and was already feeling limp in her limbs. If she hadn't persisted through sheer willpower, the original owner would likely have collapsed on the ground long ago.

It was at this moment that Meng Meijing arrived aggressively, accompanied by Jixiang.

"Miss, the Second Miss is here again," Baozhu reported hurriedly to Meng Shisan upon seeing her.

Meng Shisan followed Baozhu's gaze and clicked her tongue. "She doesn't come with good intentions."

"Ah? Then what should I do? Is it too late for this servant to run back to the courtyard to call for help?" Baozhu anxiously stepped in front of Meng Shisan, attempting to shield her from Meng Meijing's ill intent with her own body.

The Second Miss used to bully the Miss frequently; Baozhu couldn't beat Jixiang, and the Miss couldn't beat the Second Miss.

She had to call for backup, otherwise, the Miss would be bullied by the Second Miss again.

Meng Shisan patted Baozhu's shoulder lightly. "It's too late, and you won't be able to block her anyway."

"Miss..." Baozhu's face fell. She knew, of course, that it was too late and that she couldn't block her.

"It's fine. Since she refuses to live her life in peace and insists on looking for trouble, I shall grant her wish," Meng Shisan said calmly and imperiously.

"Right!" Baozhu suddenly felt a surge of strength. She thought to herself that let her come; in the past, it was because she hadn't eaten enough, but now that she had full meals every day, she could definitely beat Jixiang into the ground!

Meng Shisan glanced at Baozhu, whose fighting spirit had been ignited by just a single sentence, and couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curl upward.

"You dare laugh!" As Meng Meijing approached, she saw Meng Shisan with eyes curved into crescents, smiling contentedly. The resentment in her heart grew even thicker. "Meng Liangchen, don't think that because you have His Highness backing you, you don't have to return those two slaps!"

She rolled up her sleeves. "Jixiang, beat Baozhu to death for me! If she dies, it's on me!"

"Yes!" Jixiang rolled up her sleeves and walked toward Baozhu.

"Baozhu, however Jixiang beat you in the past, you beat her back exactly the same way today." Meng Shisan did not back down. She stepped around Baozhu, who was blocking her way, and stood two steps in front of Meng Meijing. The smile on her face deepened. "It doesn't matter if she's maimed; it's even better if she dies. I'll handle the burial myself."

"Yes!" Baozhu refused to lose face. Even though she felt uncertain in her heart, she glared fiercely at Jixiang.